The government has approved 2.56 gigawatts of
renewable energy projects as of end-October for the country's new feed-in
tariff law that kicked in July 1, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
said Friday.
The capacity is already above the government's target of 2.5 GW for this year
ending March 2013.
The feed-in law has created an investment boom in renewable energy
projects--especially in solar--as it requires 10 regional utilities to buy
electricity generated from renewable energy sources at designated profitable
rates.
Of the 2.56 GW, 87% is solar power, while most of the rest is wind power, METI
said in a statement.